Youth Empowerment Synergy

InternatonalYouth Day Observed

The international Youth Day(IYD) which is held to celebrate the power,energies and contributions of young people to development accross the world has been observed in Ho.

The event which was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) was in consonance with the declaration of the United Nations General Assembly held on December 17,1999 to mark August 12 each year as International Youth Day.

To this end the youth empowerment synergy(YES) Ghana,a non-governmental organization(NGO) has organized a forum for youth groups drawn from the Volta region and engaged them on the theme”Young People As Partners For In Sustainable Development”.

A Sustainable Development Youth Action Campaign designated by the United Nations was also launched to revolutionise effective youth participation in the development process.

Addressing participants at the forum, the Policy and Advocacy Manager of YES-Ghana,Ms Obaa Akua Konadu said the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) were universal call to action to end poverty,protect the planet and to ensure peace and prosperity for all she said the SDGs were designed on 178 goals with 232 indicators that all the goals were inclusive and integrated.Ms Konadu said SDGs youth groups would be formed in all schools for them to participate in essay competitions, in media work and also develop a youth guide

In a speech read on his behalf,the Volta regional Minister,Dr Archibald Yao Letsa said young people needed to be given equal opportunities to meet the task ahead.

He said it was necessary to make future generations productive enough to implement the goals earmarked in the SDGs which requires an in inclusive and responsive and proactive youth involvement in the development process.

Dr Letsa announced that 2,300 youth had been earmarked to receive training under the Technical and Vocational Education Training(TVET) programme with 460 of them to be offered the opportunity to sit for the examinations and awarded certificates.

He bemoaned the high rate of moral decadence among the youth and said it was counterproductive and a threat to the programmes and policies designed by the government to reduce delinquency among the youth.

In a welcome address, the training manager of YES-Ghana, Mr Eric Saforo said the SDGs framework gave fresh priority to participation,accountability and gorvenance and provided the opportunituy for young people to challenge their exclusion and to demonstrate that they could take the lead in development. Mr Saforo said the SDG framework gave fresh priority to participation, accountability an good governance and provided the opportunity for young people to challenge their exclusion and to demonstrate that they could take the lead in development.

Mr saforo said the youth forum was aimed at promoting the 17 targets of the SDGs and make available an opportunity for young people and various stakeholders to discuss pertinent issues that affected development